Mantreacttjre oe grape sugar



P. W. ALLEN. MANUFACTURE OF' GRAPE SUGAR. APPLICATION FILED FEB-17, 1919.

1,422,328. Patented July 11, 1922.

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PAUL V7. ALLEN, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, .ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To PENICK 82: FORD, LTD., INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MANUFACTURE or snare scene.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1922.

Application filed February 17, 1919. Serial No. 277,579.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PAUL W. ALLEN, a citizen of the Unitedv tfltates, residing (odar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of lowa, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the Manufacture of Grape Sugar, of which the following is a sg'iccification.

My in ontio-n relates to the manufacture of grape sugar, especially grape sugar made from corn starch; and the primary ob ects of the invention are to simplify, shorten and reduce the cost of manufacture of the prodnot and to improve and give to the product certain desirable properties, to-wit. dryness,

white color, freedom from bitter taste and capacity forbeing reduced to a line powder, by subjecting the converted liquor to certain treatment subsequent to concentration and prior to crystallization.

A further object of the invention is to improve upon the method of manufacturing grape sugar disclosed in the application of Adolph llf. H. Lenders and Paul W. Allen filed Noi'eniber 18, 1918, Serial No. 263,026. In accordance with myprcsent invention the starch in a mixture with water, is con verted into sugar in any suitable manner, the starch being treated prior to conversion, to eliminate the residual protein. substances contained ordinarily in. commercial starches, the purifying treatment being preferably that disclosed in the Lenders & Allen application ust referred. to and consisting in the liquefaction of? the protein by action of proteolytic bacteria and the removal of the liquefied substances. After the starch has been purified in this manner the liquor is next concentrated to a rather thick syrup and is then beaten whil still. hot, tea porous, frothy consistency resembling whipped cream. The sugar is allowed to harden and crystallize while in this state, the product being in the form of a hard. but white porous cake which may, if desired, be reduced to a very fine, dry powder that will retain its dryness. The sugars manufactured by this method will be white in color and free from the bitter taste frequently possessed by grape sugar made from corn starch.

' The drawing shows a suitable apparatus for beating and at the same time cooling'the sugar liquor. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of. an apparatus so constructed. The beating or frothing of the liquor just precedent to crystallizatlon may be effected by any means suitable for the purpose.

In the drawing-- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the beating apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a plan view, and

Figs. 3 and. 4 are cross sectional views on an enlarged scale, taken. on lines 3-3 and l e of Fig. 1.

Referring to .the drawing, the beating apparatus comprises a Vessel or trough 10 slightly inclined, say from left to right, in which is arranged a revoluble beater ll, the shaft 1.2 of which is provided, preferably at each end, with a belt pulley 13. The converted liquor, while still hot from the vacuum pan in which it is concentrated, is run into the vessel 10 through pipe 1 L. It is preferable to have the liquor concentrated to about 42 Baum and at a temperature of about H5 Fahrenheit at the time it enters the beater. In order to facilitate the crystallization, which takes place after the beating operation, it is desirable to seed the liquor with seeding crystals while the liquor in the vessel 10. The seeding crystals may be fed into the vessel through a spout 15. The lower or right hand end of the vessel 10 is surrounderjl' by a water jacket 16 to which water is suppliedv through pipe 17 and from which water is discharged through pipe 18. The sugar liquor is beaten and mixed withair by the revoluble beater 11 until it is given a porous, frothyconsistency resembling whipped cream. In this state it is discharged from vessel 10 through the dis charge spout 19. It is important that the heating of the liquid should. not be continued after the liquor reaches the consistency described as under further beating the froth will return to a liquid state in which it is quite difficult to crystallize. While it is perhaps not essential to artificially cool the material as it passes through the beater,

this reduction of temperature, which it will be observed takes place at the-discharge end of the beating apparatus, is very desirable as it helps to keep the sugar in the frothy state while being run into the crystallizing vessel which is the next step in the process. The sugar, when treated as above described, will harden and crystallize within about twelve hours after it has been run into the molds. The product will be in the form of a hard but porous substance which, when dry, may be ground to a fine, dry, nonhygroscopic powder.

It is important, if a product of this character is to be produced, to eliminate all of the protein impurities from the material before crystallization takes place. If the sugar contains even small quantities of protein matter it will be damp enough so that it cannot be reduced to a finely pulverulent state, or at least to a fine powder which will retain its dryness. The elimination of the protein impurities (and it may be remarked that all commercial starches contain a small but appreciable amount of protein matter), is best accomplished by purifying the starch, prior to conversion, in accordance with the method set forth in the Lenders and Allen application above referred to. According to this method the starch mixed with water is inoculated with bacteria of the Bacillus p wtm'fim group, the particular organism best calculated to serve the purpose being group No. B.121.1233111 in accordance with the descriptive chart of the Society of American Bacteriologists endorsed by the society for general use at the annual meeting December 31, 1907. The starch liquor at the start of bacterial action should have at least two million bacteria per cubic centieffect is inappreciable.

meter. The material is agitated to thoroughly mix the germs and is then allowed to stand until the starch settles. The supernatant liquor is then drawn ofl", fresh water added and mixed with the starch, and the starch again allowed to settle, after which decantation of the liquor follows. These steps are repeated until the protein is entirely removed or reduced to an inappreciable minimum. a By describing the starch as verted liquorwill be white and'will, therefore, not require the usual filtering through animal charcoal. After conversion the liquor is concentrated in a vacuum pan to approximately a density of 42 Baum and is then run into the beating vessel, as above described.

This method of manufacturing sugar besides giving a better product than has heretofore been produced in respect to color, taste and capacity forv being reduced to a permanently dry, finely pulverulent state, has advantages from the point of view of economy-of operatiem- The starch may be converted almost entirely into sugar, (97 to 98% dextrose) and the whole yield of the conversion step can be crystallized. Moreover, the crystallizingstep of the process is shortened from several days to a few hours, which means a great saving in floor space and mold pans, anda. very materialreduction in the amount of material which has to be kept in' process of maufacture.

I claim:

1. Improvement in the method of manufacturing. grape sugar from starch which consists in beating a sugar liquor which is free from protein impuritiesto aporous, frothy consistency, and allowing it to stand in this state until crystallization takes place.

2. Improvement in the method of making grape sugar from starch which consists in beating asugar liquor which is free from protein impurities-in the air' and while the liquor is still hot to give it a porous, frothy consistency, and allowing the same to stand while in this state until crystallization takes place.

3. Improvement in the method of making grape sugar from starch which consists in subjecting a sugar liquor which is free from protein impurities at a temperature of about 145 Fahrenheit and at a density of about 42 Baum, to a beating operation in the air, which gives the sugar a frothy, porous consistency, and then allowing it to stand until crystallization takes place.

4. Improvement in the method of making grape sugar from starch which consists in beating a sugar liquor which is free from protein impurities in the air and while the liquor is still hot-to give its. porous, frothy consistency, cooling the material so that it will retain this consistency, and then allowing' it to stand until crystallization takes place.

5. Improvement inthe method of making grape sugar from starch which consists in beating a sugar liquor which is free from protein impurities in the air and while the liquor'is still hot to give it a porous, frothy consistency, cooling the material during the latter portion of the beating operation, and then allowing it to stand until crystallization takes place.

PAUL W. ALLEN. 

